6 months down on my 1 year Off grid test. (~8 month status update)

[XeonPony]

One word of warning, propane can leak, so if you don't have a means to keep good track of it you can be caught off guard, I personally like diesel, costs way more but you can easily see leaks, and when stored cool and dry will last years.

rare it leaks but just don't get to complacent with tanks with out checking them every so often.

With a genset, make proper fire breaks around it and such as that is a high fire risk component, I by principle all ways place at minimum 50 feet away from the home, and I set the fuel tanks a few feet from the genset with a fire break.

Ask your self what is the worst thing that can happen, then make counter measures as such.

 

[Skid]

My off grid choice is because I don't want to connect to shoddy, unreliable and overpriced service in a 3rd world dictatorship. My system is very small after ditching Ecoflow which would be fine for portable power but inefficient for solely off grid use. New system is a Victron Phoenix 12/800 and a 12v 100ah battery. This runs the washer in the day, lights fridge etc through the night. I'll be away for a year and will then have the 48v system up and running. 10kw of battery, a 3200w inverter will run daytime AC if I want and way, way overkill for anything else. A happy blend of lifestyle and hobby. My life is such that no backup plan need be considered. Any failure can be fixed in time with little disruption.

 

[Mattb4]

10/28/2025. Had to open the padlock on the grid supply panel on the pole. Service disconnect breaker was thrown to on position after other isolation was done. Grid began supplying the house main panel at 8:15am. My AIO's were placed in shutdown/standby.

What caused this was bad weather that started on Friday (10/24) and has lasted now for 4 days and 5 nights. The end of the day on (10/23) Thursday had seen me at full battery before the beginning of this event. Both today (Tuesday) and tomorrow are also predicted to be raining and cloudy all day, with the this morning now being foggy. There has been only about 8kWh generated by solar in this 4 day period from my 7.4kW worth of panels. My batteries are below 20% now which means that large loads could create enough voltage slump that things would cease operation.

On the second day of non production (10/25) I began conserving power by turning off my hot water tank. I also cut back on other major loads and had quick meals prepared in the microwave, induction hob or on my electric grill. I did run my pellet stove for several hours on 10/25, 10/26 and 10/27. Based on the remaining battery charge this morning I estimate that I would be in shutdown by the end of the day today. I felt it best to preserve enough of that to wait so that I need not charge the batteries from grid. If I was going to run my generator I would charge the batteries to make maximum use of fuel.

Now that I am back on grid I can catch up on shower and clothes today. I am pleased my estimate of 3 days of battery capacity was bone out by 4 days of use. However for this period of bad weather is likely going to end up being 7 days. To cover an equivalent bad weather period in the future I estimate I need an additional 15-20kWh of battery capacity. Probably makes more sense to simply pay for gas to run the generator if I decide to have my Co-Op pull the meter..

Some sun is predicted by Thursday of this week and if so I can revert back to Off grid operation.

 

[740GLE]

So when is the new battery order expected to be placed?

 

[Mattb4]

So when is the new battery order expected to be placed?

Just as soon as I can save up some money by my continued diet of Ramen Noodles and day old bread allows. Still paying for my last Solar purchases.

 

[740GLE]

My go to choice is animal shelters . .

No you sicko, not for that

They usually have canned cat food pantry that’s very well stocked, and you don’t get the same shame/stigma of going to a real food pantry.

 

[Madcodger]

I am pleased my estimate of 3 days of battery capacity was bone out by 4 days of use. However for this period of bad weather is likely going to end up being 7 days. To cover an equivalent bad weather period in the future I estimate I need an additional 15-20kWh of battery capacity. Probably makes more sense to simply pay for gas to run the generator if I decide to have my Co-Op pull the meter..

You did an excellent test. Whether to go off grid or not depends on your personal situation, needs, desires but now you now know that with either grid or a generator as your occasional backup you're good to go. As you know, we decided to build and remain off grid despite having grid running less than 200 feet from the main building of the property, "just because we could". FWIW, I personally like the idea of having two dual fuel generators as a backup instead of the grid because the grid is most likely to be down after something like a winter storm, tornado, etc. We haven't needed our generator since we got all our panels up last December but I plan for six days per year. At that level of use, and considering that we would own a generator anyway, it's less expensive than maintaining a grid connection.

Which reminds me... generators can die, as our little one did during a construction project this summer. So I'll order a replacement today to serve as the backup to the backup. Two is one, one is none.

 

[Mattb4]

The bad weather broke and today is starting out with sunshine. The next few days are predicted to be sunny (cold though, first freeze predicted in the next few nights) so should afford an ability to regain full charge of my battery banks. I went back Off grid at 9 am this morning. The 48v main battery bank is at ~50vDC or around 18%.

During the on grid period I made use of electric heat and the pellet stove (not at the same time) at my place since the outdoor temps were in the 40-50F's, on and off rain with a bitter North wind blowing. Nasty Fall weather. My usage from grid is 47kWh for the 48 hour period. or about $5.75.

Some interesting takeaways. While on grid I noticed some LED light flicker just after turning them on similar to Off grid inverter operation. However did not have the LED flicked for sudden load cycling on/off. The fan speed on the pellet stove did not get affected as when on inverter and using the microwave. Grid power and inverter power are just not quite equal.

 

[Mattb4]

Not bad today for recovery. I figure close to 3 hours average with near 22kWh from my PV. My main 48v bank is now at 76% and my 24v bank is near 95%. For the end of October and partly cloudy I am pleased to see such numbers. I believe I could add another 5-10kWh without increasing my PV wattage. Not that I am planning to but to get a full week worth of bad weather it looks like I would need to add 15-20kWh worth of battery storage and 1600W worth of panels.

This image is from the one smart BMS I have on a 105ah (estimated at 95ah) battery I built.